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Keyefus Ariston
A Senator in Exile Background Keyefus Ariston (38 BBY --) is the sole Senator of Umbara (In Exile). He is an active partisan against Imperial domination and tyrannical rule in general. While many consider Ariston one of several "Black Sheep" Senators from worlds that are nominally Imperial, he has proven himself to be authentically Republican in loyalties. Born in the days just prior to beginning of the Clone Wars, Ariston was the son of Areyetuese Ariston, a leading member of the Rootai, the ruling caste on Umbara. His father was a leading supporter of Declus Miras, the second to last Republican Senator elected from Umbara. In a political dispute, Vrolish Moore, an opponent of Ariston's father had the man assassinated. In retaliation, Ariston's aunt, Jylisca Megass hired a Zabrak Assassin to kill Vrolish Moore and his entire family. Moore's daughter, Sly survived but was imprisoned in a Sith tomb instead of being killed. She was later rescued by future Chancellor Palapatine, who nursed her back to health. Moore's close relationship with Palapatine, made the Ariston family and all involved with them highly unpopular on Umbara. Jylisca, sensing the end was near, smuggled her children and her nephew off Umbara. Life in exile wasn't easy for the very political family. Under the ruling and ruthless hand of Jylisca, the family was able to establish itself among an expatriate group of Rootai-outcasts on Coruscant. The virulent political nature of Umbara forced the family to remain in hiding much of the time. Keyefus, spent his early teenage years reading books and watching holovids. History, philosophy, political theory and warfare were his favorite subjects and helped pass long hours in the depths of Coruscant's immigrant slums. In his middle teenage years he became politically active among the expatriates representing them on the various local political bodies that governed Coruscant's vast network of boroughs. He was able to improve the lot of the expatriate community and caught the eye of several early rebel organizers. He befriended one pro-Rebellion sympathizer named Gar Paldeen, a Corellian poet who was also a professor of political philosophy on Corellia. Ariston became a student of Paldeen-thought and pushed pro-democratic reforms through his borough council. That, attracted attention of the local COMPNOR enforces, who arrested Paldeen. Paldeen was tried for treason and for being a member of the Rebel Alliance, which he denied. His fate and that of other suspected Rebellion sympathizers was sealed when the First Death Star was destroyed by Luke Skywalker. After Paldeen’s death, Ariston went underground. He fled Coruscant in disguise and settled into an immigrant community on Naboo. There, he quickly gained a reputation in the small Umbaran Community there and officially joined a Rebel Alliance. He took part in several operations in a supporting role until the Battle of Endor, where he served on a damage-control team in the fleet’s medical frigate. In the wake of the rise of the New Republic, Ariston worked on establishing local governing bodies on various Republic worlds. His primary focus was on Coruscant until the Imperial Blitz forced him to flee yet again from the planet that had become his home. His latest home has been New Alderaan, where he was elected to represent the exiled Umbarans on the various Republic worlds. There, he presses his Paldeen-influenced beliefs. Paldeen Philosophy and Ariston Paldeen philosophy revolves around aggressive military action mixed with active local government involvement by adult sentients. Recognizing the fatal flaw of Old Republic pacifistic reliance upon the Jedi Order to maintain peace within the Republic, Paldeen called for a federated military under a central command executive to defend the Republic from enemies within and without. Breaking with the traditional fear of a centralized military force, Paldeen believed that all sentient beings were endowed with a basic desire to exist in their natural state, which is free from oppressive political systems. He believed that sentient beings would serve, regardless of their culture, to protect a system that maximized their individual liberties. His most popular book titled "The Free Sword," Paldeen advocated for a wide-spread governmental organization that involved as many levels of society as possible at varous levels with a vibrant, competant Senate at the apex of the government structure. � Ariston became a believer in Paldeen’s writings early in his career, the man's beliefs were were reinforced by his experiences within the Rebel Alliance. There, beings from various cultures and races combined to overcome their differences and defeat a common foe. Ariston believes that same esprit de corps is necessary to bring down the Empire of contemporary times.